Determinants of CSR application in the hotel industry of the Colombian Caribbean

Abstract

This study identifies the determinants of corporate social responsibility (CSR) application in the hotel industry of the Colombian Caribbean. A structured CSR questionnaire was applied to a sample of 224 hotels and multivariate statistical analysis was carried out with the support of the DYANE software. The findings suggest that the degree of CSR application is influenced by the size, age, category, type of contract, financial performance, and level of investment in innovation of the establishments; as well as by the sex, age, level of education, and degree of the directors' autonomy in CSR-related decision-making and their motivations and perceived obstacles. This study on CSR is one of the first that has been applied in the hotel industry of the Colombian Caribbean and the results have important theoretical and practical implications to academia and the hospitality industry. Businessmen have valuable information to improve the levels of CSR in their companies and therefore contribute to a more responsible and sustainable tourism development in the Colombian Caribbean. Future research should include other variables like the type of corporate governance and the risk appetite of the decision-making body of the hotel and the social responsibility of all the stakeholders implicated in the destination.